The defeat in the fifth Test meant that England and India drew the series 2-2.
England head coach Brendon McCullum has admitted that his team has got some “room to improve” following a drawn Test series against India.
England and India shared the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy after the five-match Test series finished 2-2, with the Shubman Gill-led side winning the fifth Test at The Oval by six runs.
England had been set a target of 374 in the fifth Test, but the hosts were all out for 367 as centuries from Joe Root and Harry Brook went in vain. Later this year, England will travel to Australia for the much-awaited Ashes series, which will consist of five Tests.
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England have not won the Ashes since 2015, when they defeated Australia 3-2 at home. England will next play limited-overs series against South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand, but their next Test assignment is the Ashes. The first Ashes Test will take place in Perth from November 21.
“We’ll let this one sit, we’ll digest it,” McCullum was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “We’ll be able to pick out what has gone well then start to work out how we can keep improving so, when we do arrive out in Australia, we give ourselves a huge chance. We’re in the middle now, halfway through what we knew was going to be an unbelievable 12 months of Test cricket. We know we’ve got some room to improve,” he added.
England’s fielders were at the receiving end of things as they dropped quite a few catches in the fourth Test at Old Trafford that ended in a draw.
The hosts dropped those of India captain Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja in the second innings of that Test. Both of them went onto score centuries. “We didn’t catch very well in this game but have caught really well over the last few years,” the former New Zealand captain stated.
“Sometimes dropped catches happen and one leads to another. If we had held our catches maybe we would have been stood on the other side of the result. That’s life, there’s so many little things in the game we could pick out and have huge impacts. We are a good fielding unit and had a bit of an average performance in this Test,” he added.
Former England pacer Stuart Broad shared his thoughts on the game, and recalled his interview with Brendon McCullum. Broad said that he could sense the feeling that McCullum thought England weren’t brave enough on the fifth day of the series final.
He added that Harry Brook’s dismissal, which left England at 301/4, was the turning point of the game. “Brook, with so much energy and momentum in the innings got out and all the momentum fell away, and Bethell couldn’t quite get off strike,” Broad said on the For the Love of Cricket podcast during a discussion with Jos Buttler.
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“India were superb tactically, and then he (Bethell) got out playing a big shot which, I know in that changing room they must have preferred him getting out rather than blocking, so fair enough for the attempt of that shot. But then Rooty got out.
“I interviewed Brendon McCullum after the game, and I could sense that he felt we weren’t brave enough. England weren’t brave enough last night and this morning (Day five). Yeah, we tried shots, but didn’t have that full commitment that he may have expected, and ultimately a little bit unlucky with Jamie Overton’s dismissal,” he added.
Jos Buttler shared insights on the subtle changes that Harry Brook has made to his batting with the help of his childhood coach Martin Speight.
“Brook’s style is incredible. He has got 10 Test hundreds in 50 innings I think, the quickest to that mark, fearless batter. I remember speaking to him in the bus, asking him what’s the biggest aspect of the game you have developed.
“He works with his childhood coach Martin Speight. Recently, he worked with him on forward defence, he worked on playing it late and the defence that would keep him at the crease. Of all his shots, that perfect forward defence that dribbles to point is one of his favourites,” revealed Buttler.
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